How you can secure your dream home
12,000 test positive for virus in region and nearly 600 die
Welcome to this month’s column from Mortgage Advice Bureau East Kilbride.
Over the last few weeks there has been a surge in people looking to buy their first home or move to another property and a common query we get is around the process of actually getting an offer accepted on your dream home.
So this month I have asked our partner legal firm, Delaney Graham Solicitors, to provide an overview of what’s involved in securing an offer on a property.
When do I need a solicitor?
When you have viewed a property which you like, the estate agent will encourage you to submit a ‘note of interest’ or make an ‘offer.’
Both are done by a solicitor, who will guide you through the house buying process. Note of interest :
By expressing a note of interest, your solicitor will be informed about how the marketing of the property progresses. This includes finding out how many other interested parties there are.
You or your solicitor can try to agree a price with the estate agent, particularly if you are the only one interested in the property or if the sellers are looking for a quick sale.
You should remember that by doing this you will be ‘showing your hand’ to the estate agent and the seller.
Your solicitor will advise you on the best strategy to try to secure the property.
If there is sufficient interest in the property, the estate agent will likely encourage the sellers to set a closing date rather than accept an offer from one buyer.
A closing date is essentially a blind bidding process - interested parties instruct their solicitors to submit their best offer (in writing) at a set date and time – and a closing date is set in the hope of driving up the price.
At this stage, having your mortgage agreement in principle organised with your mortgage broker will put you in a much stronger position.
At the closing date the sellers will decide which offer, if any, they think is the best and want to accept.
Sellers will take into account not only the price but also other factors such as whether the buyers need to arrange a mortgage or can pay cash or whether the buyers need to sell their own property in order to buy.
At a closing date there is no negotiation and you only get one chance to make your best offer.
How much should I offer?
This comes down to two things – how much you can afford and how much you want the property.
Your mortgage broker will be able to help you work out a realistic budget.
Delaney Graham, Solicitors, will be happy to help you and can be contacted on 0141 483 4450 to answer any queries and discuss your requirements.
I hope this information has been useful and as always, we are here to take care of all your mortgage requirements if you are thinking of buying a property.
Thanks and see you next month, Kevin.
More than 12,000 people tested positive and almost 600 died from coronavirus in South Lanarkshire in 2020.
Figures published by the National Records of Scotland and released under freedom of information laws by Public Health Scotland reveal the full extent of how COVID-19 affected the region.
In total, 12,157 people tested positive last year and 598 died after testing positive for coronavirus, with East Kilbride and Avondale having the highest mortality rate.
However, the picture varied greatly across the region, from Clydesdale South, where just 35